Window sash control



April 4, 1950 H. J. SMITH 2,503,076

' wINnow sAsx-x CONTROL 1 Filled oct. 51,1945

J6 INVENToR Patented Apr. 4, 1950 UNITED' STATES." PATENT O FFICE WI-Nnow` sAsH cominci.- vrial-na- J. smith, Bmoklyn, N. Y. nppli'catmioetoper 3.1:, 1945; serialY No. 625,717# 1 claim. (c1. 292-75) My invention relates to and more particularly to ball bearing sup-ported windowf-"sas'hes for facilitatingtheymovement of the sash within. the frame..

Many patents have been issuedv for similar devices but. itisv doubtful if any have gone into com`v mercial use.. It isL the primary purpose of this invention., therefore, to; provide a device of the foregoing; character,y which is sut-liciently simple inl eenstruetion,I easyv to install and operate, andY inexpensive in cost,l to warrant its general ac'- ceptance by architects andi contractors.

@ther objects are to provide a substantially frictionless device that is adjustable with respect to: the Window frame; that' may be made selfadjiusting witliarespect thereto; which may bek combined with anovel formof weather-strippingr ruiming the length of the window frame; which requires. less eif'ortxwhen installed in a window sash for operating the sash from one position to another; and which will permit the window to be raised to any desired position and be securely held thereon.

I accomplish theseandother objects and obtain my new results as will'be apparent from the device described in the following'l specification, partiularly pointed out in the claim, and illustrated inthe accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. I is a Airon-t eleva-tion of a window frame and-sash employing myA invention, and shown partly section.

Eig. 2` isA a transverse sectional view taken.

Fig. 3 is a detailed view of one end of a window sash shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a ball bearing socket device forming a part of my invention.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a section of the weather-stripping employed in my invention.

Fig. 6 is a detailed sectional view of one end of a window sash shown in Fig. 2, illustrating a self-adjusting modication of the ball bearing socket device.

In the drawing, reference numeral II)l designatesl atypicalwindow frame, employing upper and lower windqwsashes I I and I2, respectively,

`operatingin theg'rooves I3 and I4 vbetween the partingA beads I5 mounted on the side jambs I6 and the stops II and I8.

On both edge faces of side portions I9 of the window sashes which ride in the grooves and at appropriate points, at least two ball-bearing socket'devices 20 are mounted in recesses 2 I` lchereln. In the drawing, they are shown at the top window sash. controls 2. and bottemgol? each window sash.. They mayy b placed atA intermediate; points additionally.

Each socket device contains a spring actuated ball-bearing; 22 projecting partially therefrom,

which rides on the corrugated strip 23- longitudinal-lypositioned in the groove. The strips. are provided with a. plurality of continuously con nected camini-ng sections or corrugations, preterably curved.. whichfurr-iish seats. for the ball bearings, the.- seatsY having preferably a radius ot curvature slightly less than the radius of the ball bea-rings, so thaty the ball bearingsv may be1 2Q' The bal-t-rbearing. socket. device 20: and corrugated strip 23 are shown insection in: Fig. 3f wherein the Vloall-bearing 22; is seated in. an aper.-l ture/24- lecated. the front section 252 of the;Y

tubular soelieft- 26,. with; a suitable springf 2T con'. tai-ned"tl'ierein.l The spring rests onthe backwall 28 of the socket and operates against4 the:v

bach side of the ball. urgingv it into the seat formed by the aperture. The socket 2S may be forcee-fittedl into the drilled hole 2l of the window sashand the shoulder 2.9v on the. front section willseat itself. on' the,` recessed face 3@ of. the side member If9gof. the window sash', establishing: a xed. outward. positiizin` of' the ball with respect thereto.

In Fig. 4, the ball-bearing socket device is shown provided with a front section 3|, having a plurality of counter-sunk screw holes 32 for enabling the device to be attached by screws to the wall 30, eliminating the need for force-tting the socket in the drilled hole 2 I.

In Fig. 6, a modication of the socket device is shown, which permits an automatic outward adjustment of the ball bearing with respect to the ,socket device, to compensate for unevenness in the window frame, and for any wear that may occur inthe corrugated strip that is greater than vthe-distance the'` ball can be normally projected from the xedfront plate of the socket device. Here thefball is seated in a cup-shaped member 33 having a seating aperture 34 in the bottom of the cup, for Athe ball. The spring 35is contained withinfthe cup, one end of thev spring 'operating on. the.v ball,with the remaining end of the spring-pressing against the' end wall 31 Lof.' the tubular sleeve 36 which is seated in the extend into a slot 33a in the side of the cup-shaped member to keep the parts together, the length of the slot providing for the maximum distance member 33 may be projected. The sleeve 36 may be -force-fitted in the hole 2| or provided with a front lip 38 having apertures'39 for vscrews 40 which may be used to secure the sleeve 36 to the window sash.

The corrugated strip '23 may be provided with an uncorrugated ange 4| slidably' tting into groove 42 extending longitudinally on the face 30 in the side portions I9 of the Window sash. Thus a weather-stripping feature may be added to the corrugated strip if desired. It is desirable to position the iiange 4| between the outside of the Window and the ball-bearing devices for protecting the same from the weathering elements. 'Ihe strips are fastened to the side jambs by small nails or screws 43, preferably alternately positioned on each side of the corrugated section on the strip 23', as shown in Fig. 5. The strip may be moulded into the form shown in Fig. 5, or one of the legs of a right-angle section may be pressed from the at to corrugated shape by passing it through a pressing roller. The strip itself may be made of metal or suitable plastic that will not unduly wear under the action of the rolling ball bearings.

It will be helpful in the operation of the invention if the strips on each side of each window sash be matched to the position of their associated ball-bearing devices, so that when one ball is seated in one corrugated strip, the remaining balls will be similarly seated in the remaining positions on each sash.

By employing the combination of ball-bearing supporting devices with corrugated strips, I have obtained the principal object of my invention. By the use of self-adjusting ball-bearing supporting devices, I am able to provide for variations in dimensions that are greater than can be expected from the distances each ball-bearing projects from its associated mechanism. The combination of a corrugated strip with a weatherstripping ange enables me to provide a window sash and frame designed to exclude the weathering elements from the ball-bearing devices, thereby protecting them.

I have thus described my invention, but I desire it understood that it is not conned to the particular forms or uses shown and described, the same being merely illustrative, and that the invention may be carried out in other ways without departing from the spirit of my invention, and,

which, objects of my invention are attained and new results accomplished, as it is obvious that the particular embodiments herein shown and described are only some of the many that can be employed to attain these objects and accomplish these results.

I claim:

In a window frame and sash construction wherein the sash has two side portions each provided with a plurality of holes and the frame is provided with grooves for slidably moving the side portions of the sash therein, a sash holding device adapted to cooperate with a corrugated strip mounted within the grooves, said device comprising a socket member mounted within each hole, a spring mounted within the socket member, a front section longitudinally slidably in the socket member and having an apertured seat, and a ballbearing seated in said aperture and urged into the seat by said spring, whereby the window sash will be supported by said ball-bearings engaging the surfaces of the corrugated strip.

HAROLD J. SMITH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES .PATENTS Number Name Date 15,557 Bruff Aug. 19, 1856 435,683 Cook Sept. 2, 1890 681,379 Tidd Aug. 27, 1901 1,409,573 Bamberg Mar. 14, 1922 1,470,952 Baruch Oct. 16, 1923 1,554,494 Fleckenstein Sept. 22, 1925 1,592,515 Brewe July 13, 1926 

